Carbone, a posh Italian American restaurant in New York where dishes come with a hefty price tag, has arrived in London – but restaurant critics have slated the food at the highly anticipated opening as ‘inedible’ and ‘silly’.

Founded by chef and restaurateur Mario Carbone, alongside his partners Jeff Zalaznick and Rich Torrisi, Carbone’s Mayfair chapter is one of the most highly-anticipated additions to the capital’s restaurant scene this year.

However, reviews from The Times, The Standard and Infatuation suggest the restaurant, which includes a £98 lasagne among the slew of expensive dishes on its menu, is far more about style than substance.

The famed eatery first opened in the Greenwich Village neighbourhood of New York in 2013, and is known for attracting a near-constant stream of celebrities, with its patrons including Justin and Hailey Bieber, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, almost every member of the Kardashian family, Adele, and more.

Carbone also appears in the Michelin Guide, which describes it as an ‘ever-so-stylish’ place to dine with a ‘striking interior and smartly dressed servers who work the floor with a bit of flirt and flair’.

But while the eatery boasts its reputation as the Big Apple’s most sought-after reservation, it seems that diners across the pond may not be as swift to get a booking in.

Writing for The Evening Standard, David Ellis describing dishes like the £67 veal marsala as being so ‘absent’ of flavour that he ‘momentarily wondered if Covid was back doing the rounds’.

Elsewhere, he had found that the £54 lobster ravioli was ‘characterless’ while describing the restaurant’s famous spicy rigatoni vodka, which will set customers back by £29, as being covered in ‘a tomato sauce he thinks he last had with spaghetti hoops’.

One of the defining characteristics of the original Carbone is the service, with many patrons describing it as ‘impeccable’. However, this was lacking during David’s time there, as he wrote that it was ‘patchy’, despite the waiter’s best efforts.

‘In the end you remember you’re in a chain, Pizza Express with the lights down,’ he added.

The Times’ Charlotte Ivers had further branded the £46 chicken scarpariello as ‘inedible’, adding that the dish contained mushrooms of a texture ‘so viscerally disgusting that she gagged’.

However, while there were dishes that she had been more fond of – such as the £31 Caesar salad, made tableside – she felt the venue was ‘not about the food’.

‘That should have been clear when Victoria Beckham walked in: this is not a restaurant for people who like eating,’ the critic concluded.

For The Infatuation, writer Jake Missing also tried the veal marsala, which is described as ‘serviceable’ – but he had characterised the whole restaurant as ‘silly’.

‘Should you hone in on the food, Carbone won’t insult you, although elements of it will whelm,’ he penned.

‘The famous spicy rigatoni stands up, while a bowl of salty calamari with butter sauce is virtually inedible.

‘The majority of the menu is served on a trolley by the troupe of sing-song staff, and the room feels like Grosvenor Square Grand Prix at times.

‘For dinner and a show, head to the West End. For a show with some dinner, go to Carbone.’

Customers can expect to easily spend more than £100 per person when dining at the latest opening, which is located just a stone’s throw away from luxury hotel Claridge’s and right next to yet another luxury hotel, The Chancery Rosewood.

In an interview with the FT, co-founder Jeff declared: ‘I always said we can’t open more than 10 minutes’ walk from Claridge’s.

‘We spend all our time in Mayfair. And a restaurant that serves the kind of food we do at the price point we serve it – more than £100 per person – can only exist here.’

‘But finding an incredible spot in Mayfair isn’t easy,’ he said, adding: ‘You can’t get better than this.’

He also told Tatler that the restaurant’s location in the building that used to house the American Embassy held ‘such significance to what they do, creating New York-style, Italian-American food’.

‘That corner, that block – we couldn’t ask for more, it’s just a perfect place,’ he remarked.

But Carbone in London won’t just boast all the Italian-American classics it is well-known for. The menu also includes a very British twist: after all, what is more British than a Sunday roast?

According to Mario, a Sunday roast is ‘what’s expected and what people are excited about’.

British produce and tastes are also set to be at the heart of Carbone ‘s London menu, according to the chef.

For example, the FT reported a new scallops rosmarino starter that will appear on the menu.

The dish, which carries a price tag of £51, was created to showcase diver scallops from Scotland.

Carbone is also known for its tiramisu cake, which has been on the menu since the day it opened in 2013.

However, Londoners will be offered something different.

Mario told the newspaper he plans to replace it with a more traditional custard base.

Also available are a £126 New York Strip, £77 Double Lamb Chops and £79 Whole Branzino.

On the lighter side, diners may opt for Sicilian beets for £24, Prosciutto and Mozzarella for £29 and a Fettuccine con Funghi – some mushroom pasta – for £27.

The restaurant’s impeccable service earned it high praise, and this will be no different in London – with the added flair of some table side theatre.

Carbone diners can also sample dishes like the £88 Dover sole piccata and flambéed desserts like flamed bananas set on fire right beside their tables, as well as servers known as ‘captains’ leading each diner through their meals.

According to Mario, the Carbone London experience is to be ‘a play, not a restaurant’, adding: ‘Every night, we put on the same performance, wearing the same costumes, telling the same jokes at the same time for a different audience.’

The restaurants’ interiors were created by designer Ken Fulk, who has long worked with Mario, Rich and Jeff.

Upon entering the establishment, customers may be greeted with marble mosaic floors and embroidered cafe curtains for a dark yet luxe feel, accentuated by an oak-and-zinc bar.

Lush red damask embrace the walls of the restaurant’s inner sanctum, which are from the archives of luxury fabric house Watts 1874, according to Hospitality Design, while guests can be seated on distressed leather chairs with white tablecloths.

Artworks from renowned artists including Ai Weiwei, Julian Schnabel, David Salle, René Ricard and more adorn the walls of the restaurant, curated by US art dealer Vito Schnabel.

Carbone officially opened its doors on September 17.

The grand opening was attended by TV personality Vas J Morgan; businessman Simon Reuben, who along with his brother David Reuben is part of the third-richest family in the UK; socialite Cosima Vesey, daughter of the 7th Viscount de Vesci; Charly Sturm, daughter of skincare mogul Dr Barbara Sturm; and Chart Chirathivat, heir to the Central Group that is worth over US$12 billion and owns Selfridges.

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